July 2009

July has been a fun-filled month for the Mauro's (when mommy isn't working). Riley got to visit her Aunt Josie and Uncle Mike in Philadelphia, PA early July. Can I just say, everyone needs a vacation from taking vacation! We were always on the go. We went to the Philadelphia Zoo, which is by far one of the best Zoo's I have been to. We also went to the Please Touch Museum. Riley's favorite room was the Alice in Wonderland room, and she really enjoyed shopping in the grocery store. She wasn't a very good shopping cart driver. She nearly knocked a woman down! The Mutter Museum was very interesting, but not a good choice for a 17 month old. On our way back to SC, we stopped in Maryland to visit Riley's Great Aunt. We went to the National Zoo (we're all abotu zoos huh?). While at the zoo, we met up with one of PJ's old pals from Dreher HS, along with his wife and 2 daughters. On the 4th of July we went to a park and Riley got to ride the train and the carousel. Like I said, a very busy vacation!

Riley tried swimming in a big pool for the first time yesterday. We went to our friend's Steve and Laura's house. Beautiful pool!! I know where I would be everyday the rest of the summer! Riley was a good sport about the pool UNTIL mommy had to try and dunk her. Not a good thing to do. She was done for the rest of the day. The only other time she got in the water was when she fell in by the steps trying to grab a cup. Mommy rescued her, while daddy was drinking a cold one. She might have nightmares about this. I hope this hasn't scarred her for life!! She was so pooped she fell asleep as soon as she was in her car seat.

Until next time....

Summer Fun

I know I have been a total slacker in keeping up with the blog. Riley is 16 months today. So hard to believe! She is getting into everything. She is running everywhere. She loves to play with Bella (dog). She played in her new swimming pool for the first time yesterday. I thought she would be scared to get into the water, but she got right in (head first). She has already been sent home from daycare, for biting 3 times in one day. That has been a hard thing to break. She went go a whole month without biting. We were so proud, but then she bit 2 children in her class. I guess reinforcement is key! She knows the majority of her body parts and loves the "If you're happy and you know it" song. It's been a fun time, but hard as well, especially teething. I am ready for that to stop! Hopefully, I won't take 1 1/2 months to update the blog. Pictures to come.

Riley has her first full strawberry a couple of weeks ago. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. Despite the look on her face after her first bite, she kept on munching! She has also sort-of mastred the art of walking...like Frankenstein! (Will try and upload pics later. Not working right now).

Riley's 1st B-day

Riley turned 1 on February 8th. I can't believe it! When I think back to how I was a year ago...let's just say I have come a long way! Riley had a great birthday. Lots of family and friends. All in all everything went well. Sad to say, he was not a big fan of her cake! Here are some pics of her big day.

We're back!

So, I am terrible! I have gone a whole 3 months without updating Riley's pictures or letting you know what she is up to in her 13th month of life. She is trying to walk. She is cruising like a mad woman, but will only take 1-2 steps unassisted before she falls to her knees. She is actually a very fast crawler (so we have been told at daycare), and she can climb the entire flight of stairs in our house! We have a little dare devil on our hands. She has said a few words: dog, ba (bottle), be (bella), dada, mama, and she even said papa when her granddaddy Mauro was in town for a visit. She has officially been added to the will! We have seen our first snow fall and made our first trip through Atlanta. She is eating anything we give her, even pesto and eggplant. Her favs are chicken nuggest, fish sticks, and green beans. Here are a few pics of her from LaGrange, where she met my best childhood friend's little boy, Harper. AND her acting silly!

One Month Older

Better late than never, right? The last few weeks with Riley have been non-stop. During the week of Thanksgiving she started eating veges on her own, learned to pull herself up and is crawling like a fiend! We are definitely getting a work out with her now. She also turned 10 months old yesterday. I cannot believe she is almost 1!

Last week was not a good week for the Mauro household. We all got a nasty stomach bug! It breaks your heart watching your 9 month old vomit. It has to be one of the saddest things I have ever seen. We managed to make it to Portrait Innovations on Friday to have her Christmas pictures done. I always seem to forget I can set up how I want some of the pictures done. I just seem to go along with the photographers at PI like I have no say. But they are fast and cheaper than going to a very nice studio, and with Christmas around the corner, I had to get my cards done! Here are a few pictures of Riley from PI (not to be confused with Pawley's Island!).

Halloween and Random stuff

Riley had her first Halloween. She was the cutest pumpkin I had ever seen. At the time she was pretty sick with an ear infection, but we braved the weather and went to the Wade Hampton game. We lasted until about half time. Here is Riley pre-pumpkin and as a pumpkin.

Riley celebrated her 9 month birthday by watching Clemson lose to Florida State. You would never know she was upset. She played all night! She has the cutest Clemson/Carolina outfit that my lil sis Nancy gave her. Even the guys thought she was cute! I love her new Clemson bow. I am addicted to http://www.mybowdaciousdesigns.com/. You can custom make the bow you want or Rachel (owner) will create a style for you. Oh, back to the game....we have also realized Riley loves to flirt, especially with older guys. We're in trouble!

We had a fun time at G.G.'s last night. Riley got to meet her Great Aunt Darlene, whom PJ affectionately refers to as Aunt Din-Dean. I guess Darlene is hard to say when your a kid. She had the best time! She especially loved the hat Aunt Din-Dean got her!